Stevie's Touring Band- Is A Refreshing In Order?
 

Many of us now know of Jana's dismissal as a backup singer for Stevie, and this got me wondering (from a post from another person)- what do we think about Stevie's backup band, and is a refreshing in order?

We all know that Stevie for the most part has been playing with the same players for around 700 years, and I was just wondering if you all thought that a refreshening was in order, and whether or not it would be a good thing in the progression of Stevie's live sound?

I wouldn't be against it necessarily, and that has nothing to do with the fact I would love to play keyboards for Stevie! ;) I think, as I've mentioned before about the nostalgia thing, if she got a whole new crew in there, it could really spice things up. Like the Timespace band, if I'm not mistaking, that was a CRAZY different sounding tour from an instrumental perspective!

What do you think?

She has to keep Waddy and Jimmy Paxson. Darrell Smith on piano is good too. I would definitely ditch Brett Tuggle (if she hasn't already) and Carlos Rios. It would be cool if she could incorporate some alternate instrumentation too... like a violin, sitar, harpsichord, etc. It's high time to give her band an adult contemporary enema and infuse it with sparkly witchy drama in its place. Oh, and bring back Sara Fleetwood! :wavey:

Another Ledgie, I think it was GhostTracker or SortaSavageLike, mentioned once that with Waddy out of the picture, Stevie performs different material than her set in stone setlist. I agree, get rid of him.
And I totally agree: BRING BACK Sara Fleetwood!

I wouldn't mind a Waddy replacement, since his guitar playing isn't melodic enough for me. Lindsey and Steve Lukather are two melodic guitar players that come to mind. That being said, Stevie is NEVER going to replace Waddy- there is no way, he's her security blanket.

I definitely would love if Sara F came back! I was watching some SA Tour videos, and those backup girls were rocking it!!!

Stevie should also replace Brett Tuggle with me! :)

No, I said she needs to KEEP Waddy. I'm not sure how one can conclude that she is more adventurous without him. If anything, I think Waddy gives her the confidence to push out her comfort zone. I figure that Stevie has enough trust in Waddy at this point that she knows that Waddy will create the correct arrangement in the correct key for her voice. Waddy gives Stevie a raw, rocking kind of edge that her other guitarists in the past have not been able to deliver. And I think the tours without Waddy- OSOTM, Timespace, Street Angel, Enchanted, etc. tended to have a very generic, slick "rent-a-rock-band" kind of sound. And some of the live arrangements on those tours were just awful, e.g., "Twisted." Waddy helps to make Stevie's band sound like a real band, rather than just a hodge-podge of hired guns.

Gay gasp! Clutches pearls!!!
Do you really think 'Twisted' was awful? I loved it, I thought it went perfectly with the breezy Jones Beach evening. It was a highpoint of that show, for me..

Replace anyone with a chick. That would be a nice change. I know an awesome rockin' guitar player that toured with Pink over the last few years. Now that would be cool. :nod:. Then again as I've said many times it doesn't matter too much to me because I never pay attention to anyone on that stage but Stevie but change is good.

When I think of a breezy Jones Beach evening, I think of raw gale-force winds peppering my face with shards of blowing sand and salt. :eek: As such, yes, the live arrangement of "Twisted" definitely complements this perfectly. Otherwise, it hurt my everything. It was so perfect the way Lindsey produced it. Someone just had to go ruin it. :mad:

Waddy does need to go. He holds her back in regards to song selection, and the only thing he really brings to the table is his way-too-loud guitar playing.

I get the impression that he does not enjoy learnign new material, and it's just easier to keep playing the same material.

I'd really like to see Stevie tour with a band of not only great musicians - but musicians that are also fans of her music, rather than friends from years past.

It's not that I have anything personal against the guy, but when I think back to the shows I've seen, he was always the...fly in the honey, so to speak.

But wasn't Waddy the one who tried to get "Bella Donna" into the setlist not too long ago? I don't think it's fair to assume that Waddy is the culprit for the setlist malaise. For all we know, he could have been the one pushing for covers like "Rock and Roll" to shake up the setlist a little bit.

I hadn't heard about Bella Donna - that would have been nice! On the other hand, I don't like the covers. The variety is nice, I'll admit, but Stevie has so much of her own material. What I've heard is that Waddy is the one who discourages Stevie from trying new material, though I cannot honestly say where or when that was mentioned; it's just something that stuck with me from somewhere.

From Waddy's Ledge Q&A:

Everyone needs to go...Sharona too.
50% of the band members must be under 30.
33% of the band must be female.
1 back up singer must be male.

I would not mind if Waddy went either, I enjoyed most of the tours without him, the sound of the band actually was more refreshing, like on the Enchanted tour. And that endless guitar solo before Edge of 17 has so got to go!